The Man Who Has No Heart (Soulless 2)

I joined him, knowing it was time for him to go. “You know, I think we should invite Valerie to visit New York for a week. If she has a good experience, especially with both of you, she might be more inclined to move.”

His expression dropped, like he didn’t like that idea. “I want to spend time with my son—not her.”

“I know…but I think that’s how it’ll have to be. You’re asking her to uproot her life. You need to show her how it could be. And it’s good for Derek to see his parents get along, to show him how to handle difficult situations with maturity, how a man treats the mother of his child even if he doesn’t love her.” I had no right to give him advice or tell him what to do, but I wanted to help him make this work, to get Derek here.

He released a quiet sigh. “You’re right.”

“You want me to talk to her? Or do you think your relationship is stable enough for you to handle it?”

“I’d prefer it if you spoke to her. I have to force myself to be polite when I don’t want to be. I’ll always care about her since she gave me Derek, since she’s the reason I have him at all, but the rest of me loathes her.”

I knew he had every right to feel that way.

“But I know I have to do it, because I’m the only one that can improve the relationship.”

“I’m sorry, Deacon. But eventually, it’ll get easier. She’ll move on with someone else, and then transferring Derek back and forth will become habit.”

He nodded before he opened the door and stepped into the hallway. “Goodnight, Cleo.” He stood in front of me, his hands by his sides. He didn’t hug me goodbye, not like he had at the cabin. He was far more open with me, far more vulnerable, but he still didn’t touch me often.

“Goodnight, Deacon.”

He continued to stare at me, like he had something else on his mind.

I waited, my hand on the door.

“You look beautiful in that dress.” He let his eyes linger a little while before he turned and walked off.

I sighed as I watched him go, watching his strong body shift and move his clothes as he walked, watched his tight ass in his slacks. When he got into the elevator, I quickly shut the door so he wouldn’t know I’d been staring.

And thankfully, he probably wouldn’t figure it out.

Matt stepped into the office and took a seat at the desk next to mine. “Deacon Hamilton really likes you, doesn’t he?” He turned in his chair to face me, his ankles crossed as he leaned back.

“He’s just really generous.” I continued to type my email.

“When he first walked in here, he was a super dick. But you turned that around.”

“He wasn’t a dick.”

He stared at me.

“Alright…” I turned in my chair. “He was kinda dick-ish.”

“But you changed his tune, like all the others.”

I was just patient and competent. I won over all my clients—given enough time. These people were used to being waited on. They weren’t easily impressed. But I became essential to them eventually. “He’s just different from most people. Takes a while to understand him.”

“And now you have free maid service. That’s pretty cool.”

It was fucking life-changing. My laundry didn’t pile up, the dishes were done and put away every week, there were clean sheets on my bed, and all my stuff was organized. And my bathroom, which hadn’t been cleaned in forever, was spotless—that was the best part. “Yeah, it’s really nice…”

“I need to step it up with the clients,” he said with a chuckle. “I get tips every now and then, twenty or thirty bucks. But nothing that nice.”

Deacon was the only client who’d even considered doing something nice for me. The others took me for granted. Then they moved out and realized I couldn’t continue to help them since my contract only pertained to residents of the Trinity Building. If I ever broke it, I could be sued for a shit-ton of money.

Anna came to the desk and set a package on the counter. “This came for 32C. Should we drop it off now or wait until tomorrow?”

I turned the box around so I could see the sender, to make sure it wasn’t important. It seemed to be from his office, and it weighed a lot, like it was paperwork. “I’ll take it to him now.” I grabbed my phone and texted Deacon. I’m coming by to drop something off.

He texted back immediately. Let yourself inside.

I took the elevator to his floor and entered his residence without knocking.

Deacon was at the dining table, smiling into his laptop. “Then what happened?”

Derek’s voice came from the monitor. “Then it crashed into the side of the house, and Mom was maaaaad.”